Republican Randall and Democrat Daniel on: Alec Baldwin's shooting of Halyna Hutchins

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 Op-Ed: Republican Randy vs Democrat Daniel weigh in on the Alec Baldwin Incident
    by Nicholas Wang

This article only reflects the views of the author. It does not reflect the views of this publication, the editors, or Biotechnology High School. 

    Context: Recently, actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, raising questions regarding his innocence and gun rights as a whole. In light of this controversy, Republican Randy and Democrat Daniel weigh in on the legal status of Mr. Baldwin and the implications of gun ownership in America.

Mr. Baldwin following the shooting

Republican Randy
 

   Alexander Rae Baldwin III (Alec Baldwin) is nothing but an elitist liberal actor who should be charged with involuntary manslaughter at the minimum. However, beneath this veneer of elitism and pretentiousness, are his radical views on gun ownership; 
Baldwin is notoriously a member of the “No Rifle Association” (a parody of the National Rifle Association), actively contributing to anti-firearm advocacy. For example, in 2018, Baldwin tweeted that Dana Loesch (an NRA spokeswoman) was indirectly responsible for gun violence within the US; in light of the recent murder,Mr. Baldwin’s stance as a gun-grabbing hawk has no doubt raised eyebrows as to how this tragedy unfolded.
    In essence, this fatal tragedy boils down to the fact that firearms do not kill people - people do. Had Mr. Baldwin and the filming crew paid more attention to the prop firearms on set, Ms. Hutchins would be with us here today. There is a solution to preventing more of these dangerous tragedies from occurring again, such as attending firearm safety classes and being educated about the guns one chooses to handle. 
    The firearm is not responsible for this tragic death, but Mr. Baldwin is. The left must not take this as an opportunity to suppress gun rights, but rather understand how preventable this tragedy was. Our condolences go out to Mrs. Hutchins and her loved ones, but our rights to bear arms shall not be infringed.

Democrat Daniel

    In 2020, firearms took the lives of 19,300 Americans through  both homicides and suicides. The Gun Violence Archive estimates that there is a rate of 12.3 deaths per 40,000 Americans in accordance with gun usage. Unfortunately, it is not surprising that another tragedy resulting in the loss of  an innocent life was carried out with a firearm. Mr. Baldwin is not innocent nor is he guilty, but had this prop firearm been replaced with something else, Mrs. Hutchins would be with us today.
    Conservatives across America would have you believe that Ms. Hutchins death by Mr. Baldwin is somehow related to Mr. Baldwin’s anti gun activism.Yet Mr. Baldwin's stance for supporting gun control cannot be ignored. His work would normally not be dangerous, but these guns are the reasons why someone is dead. We have to dig deeper to find the real reason for this tragedy, such as why the prop gun was not checked. 
    Gun reform is needed more than ever in our polarized America, and this has to be addressed as soon as possible. We need to make sure that this tragedy never happens again, by not only having prop firearms checked, but also placing firearms under more scrutiny.            We should remedy America’s fanatical obsession with firearms by banning military grade weapons from civilian usage and creating a stricter process to verify those purchasing firearms. Mr. Baldwin's accident with prop firearms should be a dangerous reminder that this is nothing but a symptom of the American condition. 
    In conclusion, the death of Ms.Hutchins was indubitably tragic,with this tragedy reminding us about the danger of firearms. This should be our wakeup call to decisive gun control. While the GOP may tout more gun safety classes can fix this problem, that is nothing but placing duct tape over a gushing hole. Allowing such inhumane practices to continue will do nothing but kill our fellow Americans, just as Ms. Hutchins. 

Sources
Macaya, Melissa, et al. “October 25 Live Updates: 'Rust' Movie Shooting and Alec Baldwin.” CNN, Cable News Network, 26 Oct. 2021, https://www.cnn.com/entertainment/live-news/rust-shooting-alec-baldwin-10-25-21/index.html. 
Callahan, Maureen. “There's No Denying Alec Baldwin's Role in on-Set Shooting Tragedy.” New York Post, New York Post, 26 Oct. 2021, https://nypost.com/2021/10/25/no-denying-alec-baldwins-role-in-shooting-mishap-tragedy/. 
Lee, Wendy, and Amy Kaufman. “Search Warrant Reveals Grim Details of 'Rust' Shooting and Halyna Hutchins' Final Minutes.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2021, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-10-24/alec-baldwin-prop-gun-shooting-halyna-hutchins-search-warrant.